Young people are important stakeholders, says foreign minister

Jamaica’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trad Kamina Johnson Smith says the 1.8 billion strong youth population form ‘an extremely important stakeholder grouping’ and has commended the United Nations (UN) on developing a youth strategy which prioritises engagement, participation and advocacy.
Speaking at the opening of the National Youth Dialogue on Summit of the Future last Friday at the Terra Nova All Suites Hotel in St Andrew, Johnson Smith said this is the case despite the strains that many young people are living under.
She said while many globally are marginalised and living in circumstances of war and extreme vulnerability such as famine, ‘young people as a global demographic today are also more empowered than they have ever been before as a result of unparalleled access to education and to information’.
‘We are proud that, here in Jamaica and indeed across the world, you and your contemporaries are already participating in national development,’ the minister told the several young people taking part in the meeting.
She noted that the UN recognises that young people must play a more active role in helping to create a better world by achieving peace, security, justice, climate resilience and sustainable development for all.
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‘Jamaica therefore commends the UN for developing a youth strategy which prioritises engagement, participation and advocacy,’ Johnson Smith stated.
Meanwhile, Dennis Zulu, UN resident coordinator in Jamaica, The Bahamas, Bermuda, Turks and Caicos, and The Cayman Islands, said it was an honour and privilege to share and learn from the young people of Jamaica.
‘The future belongs to you and your voices are essential in shaping the communities we all want to live, raise families, do business and retire in,’ Zulu said.
Hosted by Samantha Wilmot, coordinator of the Jamaica Youth Thematic Working Group of Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) and Cavan Lewis, the outgoing president of the National Secondary Students Council, the summit was a partnership among the youths of Jamaica, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, the Ministry of Education and Youth, and the UN in Jamaica. Several Jamaican youth leaders presented and led panels.
Following the principle of leaving no youth behind, the youth audience included participants from various groups including rural youths, diaspora youths and persons with disabilities. Participants were engaged in person as well as online across various platforms.
editorial@gleanerjm.comThe Youth Speak
Young people participating in the United Nations Jamaica’s National Youth Dialogue on The Summit of the Future, were placed into groups and given themes from which they were asked to devise key messages/calls-to-action for the future they envisage.
These are the responses that were presented.
Group 1: Theme – Jamaica practices evidence-based decisions and policy making.
To be future-ready: The government should include persons with special needs and also persons from low income background, engaging with these individuals, incorporating their experiences
Group 2: Theme – Jamaica’s education system is inclusive and future-ready.
To be future-ready: The government of Jamaica must prioritize equitable funding for all schools with the consideration of individualized learning solutions to meet diverse, holistic social development needs of students; educators must leverage technology to become agents of innovation and transformation;
Group 3: Theme – Jamaica’s development is people-driven with a human security approach.
To be future-ready: We need robust, comprehensive and inclusive policies that defend our human rights and recognise development as more than just numbers; let’s push for policies that prioritise well-being, sustainability and equality;
Group 4: Theme – Jamaica is a resilient shock-responsive country.
To be future-ready: We need intentional public education and infrastructure development to be a frequent conversation to create a more preventative and proactive measure
Group 5: Theme – Jamaica is an inclusive consultative democracy.
To be future-ready: Nation leaders must ensure that local government facilities who are responsible for change are accessible by every facet of youth in the country and all communication strategies are flexible to ensure they can reach and be reached by all persons regardless of age, background or educational status.
Group 6: Theme – Jamaica embraces progressive partnerships for the achievement of the STGs.
To be future-ready: and ensure that sustainable development is genuinely youth-inclusive the government of Jamaica must forge strong partnerships with academia. This collaboration is not just an option but a necessity.
Group 7: Theme – Jamaican youth are meaningfully engaged in multilateralism.
To be future-ready: International organisations need to collaborate with local youth councils and youth-led organisations in order to spread civic awareness about the role of multilateralism and engage active youth participation.